“There Is Deliverance in Your Praise”
By Dianne Prince
“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress” (Psalm 59:16, NIV).
I remember during a particular worship service the church choir began singing the song, “Praise is What I Do.” Someone in the audience began patting their feet to the beat. Someone else began swaying from side to side, keeping rhythm with the song. Another person began bopping his head to the music. Someone from the back of the church shouted Hallelujah! As the song progressed, everyone was on their feet, hands raised in the air, bodies swaying from side to side with smiles on their faces, praising God with loud voices. The song had created an atmosphere of celebration and jubilation.
In our scripture this morning, the Psalmist reminds us that praise is contagious, and we should sing praises to God every day. The Psalmist did not say “sing” if you have a trained voice, if you can carry a tune, or if you can sing in the right note. But He instructs us to use the voice God gave us to sing praises to Him.
The reason daily praise is necessary is because it gets our mind off ourselves and helps us focus on God. Praise calls to our mind what God did for us yesterday. By remembering what God did in the past is encouragement for what He can and what He will do for us today. Remembering yesterday’s blessings will give us the push we need to get through today. It will give us the inner support we need and the assurance that God is alive. He is well, and if He “did it” for us yesterday, He will surely “do it” for us today.
The reminder for you today is this. When your praises go up, God’s strength will come down. God will give you discernment to know the answer to that pressing problem. He will hush your spirit and enable you to hear His voice clearly. His sustaining power will flow through you and give you hope you did not know you had within you. And He will speak to you in a still, small voice—a voice that will give you the assurance that what you are about to do is the right thing. There is power and deliverance in your praise.
